Strangers, Waiting
by StormWolf10
Summary: Takes place during chapter 14 of Second Time Around. Tony and Donald spend some time together, and Freya discovers her Granddad knows about her boyfriend experiences...


**A/N: In which Tony Tyler and Donald Hardy start to like each other, Donald calms Tony's fears, and Freya realises just how protective her Dad and Granddad can be… Takes place during chapter 14 of Second Time Around.**

Tony Tyler frowned up at Donald Hardy.

"Rose said Freya would be looking after me," the boy stated plaintively.

"And she is, lad," Donald responded with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm just here… For backup, if you will."

Tony looked unconvinced.

"Freya's eighteen," Tony continued.

"I know," Donald responded, a little baffled. "I'm her Granddad."

"That means Freya's recognised as an adult," Tony stated calmly.

Donald nodded.

"Aye, she is," Donald agreed.

"Then why do we need you for backup?" Tony asked. He wasn't being rude, Donald realised; the boy was genuinely confused. Freya was legally recognised as an adult, so the boy couldn't seem to work out why there was a stranger looking after him too.

"Well, we don't know when your sister and Alec will be back," Donald admitted. "And so we thought Freya might be more comfortable with me being here, too."

Tony frowned, and turned to Freya then, who was still finishing off her breakfast.

"But Rose said she's having the baby today! How come she might not be back?" Tony asked, brow furrowing.

"Could take hours," Freya shrugged. "She's having a baby, Tony, there's no way of telling how long it'll be. You'll understand when you're older."

Tony sighed.

"Does this mean Alec won't be here to read me a bedtime story?" the boy asked, forlorn.

Donald sighed, and shook his head.

**~StormWolf10~**

"That was your Dad," Donald sighed to Freya as he flipped the kettle on. "Rose is beginning to have contractions, but they reckon it'll take a while."

"Looks like they won't be home today, then," Freya responded as she glanced at the clock.

Donald nodded in agreement.

"Your father told me, you know," Donald told his granddaughter suddenly, voice quiet. "About that boyfriend of yours."

Freya's head shot up then, eyes wide.

"Your father wants to speak to him," Donald continued. "And I think he's right to."

"Granddad," Freya sighed. "It's over. It doesn't matter. I want nothing more than to forget it happened in the first place. So he cheated on me, I won't be the first girl it happened to, and I won't be the last."

"Oh, the cheating is the least of our concerns," Donald responded, voice suddenly hard. "He tried to force you to sleep with him when you weren't ready. That's what your father and I are angry about."

Freya bit her lip.

"But it's not like he succeeded, or anything," she replied after a few moments. "And he didn't rape me…"

"That's hardly the point," Donald cut in, glaring at his granddaughter. "Your father has seen enough of these sorts of cases during his time on the force to know that you were very lucky to get out of there without being beaten, Freya."

Freya swallowed and looked away.

"I'd better get back to Tony," she said quietly after a long silence. "I'm playing a board game with him."

And then, she fled the kitchen.

**~StormWolf10~**

"You alright there, lad?"

Tony nodded, not looking up even as Donald took a seat beside him.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Donald continued.

Tony didn't respond. Donald sighed quietly.

"I know you don't really know me, lad, and I don't know you," Donald began slowly, watching the boy carefully. "But I think we'd be good friends. I'd like to be your friend, I think. I don't want to be enemies, lad, of course I don't. You're family, and I like to think that you could come to me if you needed anything."

Tony looked over at the man slowly, expression unsure.

"Maybe we could get to know each other?" Donald suggested, forcing a smile despite the boy's unwillingness to talk.

Tony thought for a few moments. Then, he looked down at his lap, brow furrowed.

"Ellie got Tom and Fred a puppy," he began slowly, "and I asked Rose and Alec for a puppy, to give me someone to play with once the baby's born, but they won't get me one. The baby will be too small for me to play with him immediately, and I'm never allowed round to play with Tom's puppy…"

"Alec and Rose are very busy at the moment," Donald pointed out carefully to the boy. "They'll have your nephew to look after, and you, and even Freya. A puppy takes a lot of work-"

Donald was cut off then by the house phone ringing. Freya emerged from the kitchen, getting to the phone first.

"Hi Dad," she greeted.

It fell silent then, everyone waiting for news. Freya made a few noises to show she was listening, and then made to pass the phone over to Donald. Once Donald had the phone, she moved to talk to Tony.

"Rose and Dad won't be home tonight," she told Tony quietly as Donald talked to Alec in the background. "She still hasn't had the baby yet, but by tomorrow we should be able to go and see them, ok?"

Tony opened his mouth to protest, and Freya continued quickly.

"Now, I think you need to go to bed, yeah? It's your bedtime anyway."

Freya managed to encourage Tony off the sofa, but as he moved towards the stairs, he held his hand out for the phone, instead.

"I wanna speak to Alec!"

Donald and Freya exchanged a look, before Donald sighed.

"Listen, Alec, Tony wants to speak to you… Yeah, I know it's his bedtime, we were just getting him off to bed, but he seems a bit insistent…"

Alec said a few more words, and then Donald was reluctantly handing the phone over to the boy. Almost immediately, Tony was speaking.

"Is Rose ok?"

There was a pause as Alec answered, but clearly, Tony wasn't completely comforted by the answer given.

"When can I come see her? Can I come tomorrow morning?"

There was another pause.

"Why not?" Tony demanded, suddenly frustrated.

Another pause as Alec responded. Tony suddenly went quiet.

"Is the baby hurting her?"

A longer pause as Alec hastened to explain. This went on for several minutes, before Alec evidently bade the boy goodnight, and Tony reluctantly handed the phone back. Silently, he made his way upstairs, leaving a confused Freya to follow.

**~StormWolf10~**

It was almost two in the morning when Donald woke to find Tony shaking his shoulder gently. Alec and Rose had suggested he took their bed, but instead Donald had set himself up on the sofa downstairs. In the gloom of the room, he could just about make out Tony's figure, and he sat up quickly, getting to his feet to stumble across the room to the light switch. Once the light was on, the room was flooded with light, and Donald saw a worried-looking Tony stood by the sofa, biting his lip.

"Tony?" Donald asked quietly. "What are you doing, lad? It's two in the morning!"

Tony bit his lip harder, gaze skittering to the floor for a few moments before he responded.

"Know you said you wanted us to be friends?" Tony asked quietly after a few moments.

Donald blinked, and desperately tried to remember their conversation from the night before. He nodded, a little perplexed.

"Well," Tony continued quietly. "I think I'd like that. And I need to talk."

Donald crossed back to the sofa, sitting down on it and encouraging Tony to sit beside him. The boy had a blanket wrapped round his shoulders, his blonde hair sticking up haphazardly. Tony shifted uncomfortably for a few moments, sat in the dark beside Donald. They were virtual strangers, Donald realised, waiting in the dark together for news that might not even come for hours.

"I'm scared," Tony admitted, voice small. "I'm scared that the baby will come and that Alec and Rose won't love me anymore, and they'll forget me. And that, after the baby's born, I'll hurt it somehow, 'cause Freya said babies are really small and get hurt easily. I don't wanna hurt the baby, I don't! But what if I do? Alec and Rose will hate me forever!"

The little boy was wide-eyed now, eyes damp with unshed tears as he looked to Donald for guidance. The older man sighed sympathetically.

"There's no need to be scared, lad," Donald told Tony quietly, slipping a hand round his shoulders to give the boy a hug. "Alec and Rose will always love you, no matter what. The baby won't mean they'll stop loving you. And they won't forget you, either. Just because there'll be a younger lad than yourself in the house, doesn't mean you'll get forgotten, or ignored. It may mean that your sister will have to prioritise the baby over you sometimes, if the baby needs feeding, or to be put down for a nap, but they won't forget or ignore you, ever. And I'm sure you won't hurt the baby, lad, Rose and Alec will see to that. And even if there are a few little accidents, they won't hate you forever."

Tony sniffed, and looked up at Donald desperately.

"Really?" the boy asked quietly, brow furrowing.

Donald nodded reassuringly.

"But the baby will be too small for me to play with at first, else I'll hurt him. 'S the only reason I wanted a puppy anyway," Tony sniffed quietly. "Someone to play with."

Donald watched the boy quietly.

"You know, lad," Donald began slowly, "you could help Rose with the baby all the time. Aye, he'll be too small for you to play with at first, but that doesn't mean you can't interact with him, or help your sister. Even if it means just watching him for a few minutes while your sister gets a drink, aye? There's other things you can do other than play with him."

Tony seemed to perk up a little at that, about the prospect of being able to help out with his nephew.

"Really?" the boy asked, echoing his words from a few minutes earlier, only a lot more eager this time.

Donald nodded again.

"Aye," Donald agreed. "Even if it's just getting him a toy to play with, or bringing a fresh nappy over for your sister."

Tony nodded eagerly, before yawning.

"Go on, you," Donald grinned at the lad. "Get yourself back to bed, aye? And if you're good, I'll see about speaking to Rose and Alec about getting you a puppy."

Tony grinned, and moments later, he was scrambling up the stairs.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Why not?" Tony asked with an annoyed sigh.

Freya watched in tired amusement as she ate her breakfast. Alec had phoned, to update them on the progress of Rose's labour, but Tony had gotten to the phone first, and Alec was desperately trying to encourage the boy to wait until Rose had had the baby before coming in. As Alec responded, Tony sniffed, tired and apparently close to tears.

"So Rose doesn't want me there?" the boy asked, forlorn.

There was a pause while Alec responded, and then Tony nodded, sniffing out a teary "ok" at whatever it was Alec had said. It seemed, Freya decided, that her Dad had talked Tony out of coming to the hospital early.

"When will Rose and the baby get to come home?" Tony asked suddenly, though his voice was still soft with tiredness and tears. "They won't be in hospital long, will they? I miss Rose." Tony paused then, took a deep, shuddering breath. "An' what time can we come to the hospital? I wanna see them, and you. Can I bring the cuddly dog I bought the baby?"

Tony looked like he was about to say more, but Alec had evidently cut him off.

"Ok," Tony sighed after a minute or two. "Bye, Alec."

And then, Tony had hung up. Both Donald and Freya blinked.

"He not want to talk to us, then, lad?" Donald asked in slight amusement.

Tony looked from the phone in his hand, to Donald and Freya, and then blinked.

"Oh," the boy murmured, brow furrowing.

Donald just chuckled.

"Never mind, lad," Donald told him. "I'm sure we'll get called again."

"Probably won't be much longer anyway," Freya chipped in calmly.

**~StormWolf10~**

Hours later, Freya wasn't as calm. They hadn't heard from Alec since the phone call Tony had answered, and they couldn't help but worry that something had gone wrong. Both Freya and Donald were aware of what had happened to Rose's and Tony's Mum, and couldn't help but worry whether something similar had happened.

Still, they tried to remain upbeat and optimistic for the sake of Tony, and at just gone half past one, the phone finally rang. Donald was the first one to get there, this time.

"Alec?" he asked, before frowning. "Oh, hello, Ellie?"

Immediately, Freya was on her feet, worrying something had gone wrong. After all, why else would Ellie phone rather than Alec? But then, Freya noticed her Granddad was smiling, and she allowed herself to relax just a little.

"I'll get Tony and Freya together, and then we'll head on up," he told Ellie calmly. "Thanks for calling."

He hung up then, turning back to Freya and Tony.

"Well?" Freya prompted, brow furrowed in concern.

"Go get your shoes on," Donald told her with a grin. "It's time to go meet your little brother!"


End file.
